Israelis mourn Gaza deaths

Obituaries published in Haaretz express 'deep sorrow' over Beit Hanoun victims. Edna Kovarski of Herzliya tells Ynet she published obituary because of shame she felt for what Israel is doing

Moran Rada|Published: 11.16.06 , 00:02

The readers of Haaretz daily newspaper in the past days were in for a surprise after three Israeli citizens published obituaries in the back pages of the newspaper which expressed their grief for the death of civilians in Beit Hanoun last week. The last obituary was purchased by Edna Kovarski of Herzliya, who paid approximately NIS 2,800 (USD 650).

Kovarski wrote in the obituary that she "bows her head in shame and deep grief for your heavy loss. The sane Israeli public is invited to join these condolences."

Kovarski told Ynet that since the morning hours she has been receiving calls from Israelis who wish to publish similar obituaries in the newspaper. "I published it because of the great shame of what we do and for all the dead and injured." The family members of those who were killed, called Kovarski and thanked her for the gesture.

Obituary published by Edna Kovarski: To Atamna family, I bow my head in shame

The first one to publish such an obituary was Moshe Simhovich of Jerusalem. According to him, after walking for two days frustrated and hurt because of the incident in Beit Hanoun, he decided to act.

"I thought this was a war crime what happened in Beit Hanoun. It bothered me that innocent people got hurt. I decided to publish an obituary because I thought a letter to the editor will not get published," he said.

According to the 71 year-old Simhovich, he has been approached by several people over the past few days who felt solidarity with the content of the ad and asked to publish more of them. "The people who continue in my way are regular folks, retirees, that I believe could do other things with their money. People care and I respect that a lot."

Simhovich also referred to the fatal attack on Sderot Wednesday morning and said that regretfully, his obituary is now buried deep in Sderot, and if the attack had not happened, maybe the ad could have made some noise. "The Palestinians shot themselves in the foot. I pissed against the wind and then it turned out that the wind was a storm," he said.

As to the future, Simhovich is certain that there will be another retaliation and more innocent people will be killed. "Now the IDF will come in and fire more shells and more civilians will die and the killing will continue. I think we need to show restraint, bite our lips, and go to the Palestinians with an offer they can't refuse."